Page 79 of About Last Knight

She smiles. “Thank you. They resemble both our side of the family and my husband’s.” That might be the case for Scotty, but Ellie’s all Harley. She’s a pretty little girl.

Declan bends down and smiles. He introduces himself to Ellie and Scotty, though he’s clearly struggling with getting the words out on what they should call him.

Darian interrupts. “It’s Uncle Declan. This is your Uncle Declan.”

Scotty sticks out his little hand for Declan to shake. Declan smiles and shakes his hand back.

We all turn when we hear the glass doors from the pool area. Skylar walks in but stops short when she sees the madness happening. “Mom? What’s going on? Who’s this?”

Declan stands and stares at Skylar. He asks, “Is this Skylar or Reagan?”

Darian responds, “It’s Skylar. Skylar, this is your father’s brother, Uncle Declan. You were just a baby the last time you saw him, but he’s your uncle.”

She looks as shocked as me, Jackson, and Harley.

He walks over and gives her a hug. She reluctantly accepts it.

I can’t stay silent any longer. “Can someone please explain what in the world is happening right now?”

Declan walks back over. He and Darian look at each other and start laughing through their tears. The rest of us are in shock, but they fucking laugh.

They stop when they appreciate that the rest of us don’t find this so comical. Darian looks at Declan in some sort of silent question. He nods. “She knows my past. You can shoot straight.”

Darian nods. “Melissa, as I guess you know, Declan’s an addict.”

“Wasan addict. Hewasan addict. He’s been clean for over ten years.”

Darian looks at Declan with a fresh set of tears welling in her eyes. “Ten years?” He nods. “You could have seen him before he passed.”

Declan closes his eyes and nods. “We’ll talk.”

She nods and then turns back to me. “Anyway, we tried for years to get Declan the help he needed, and Scott and his family had already tried for a few years before I came into the picture. I don’t need to go into details right now, but when things got too out of control and unsafe, we made the tough decision to give Declan an ultimatum. Family or drugs. Not both. He couldn’t have both in his life anymore. We were hoping it would be the final wake-up call he needed.”

Declan interrupts. “I foolishly chose the drugs and lost my entire family that day. It was the worst day of my life.” He turns to Darian. “I would give anything in the world to do it over again and make a different choice.”

She smiles. “I’m sure you would. But you’re here now, and you’re clean. We can’t control the past, but we can control the future. For whatever reasons, you’re back in our lives now, and we’d like for you to stay here.”

He can barely get out, “Thank you.”

I can’t take him being so emotional anymore, so I go over and wrap my arms around him. I look up. “Are you okay?”

He squeezes me back. “I’m not sure. I obviously didn’t expect this today. I’m just in shock.”

I let out a small laugh. “You and me both.”

We hear the front door open and then close. Reagan and Carter are hysterically laughing about something as they walk into the kitchen. We all turn their way. Reagan stops short when she sees Declan and me.

She stares at us for a moment. Her eyes toggle back and forth between the two of us. “What in the actual fuck? Melissa, my mom married your ex-husband, so you had to go find a guy that looks just like my dad? That’s completely fucked up. You’ve got to get over it.”

Declan and Darian start hysterically laughing. He looks at Darian. “I see she hasn’t changed since she was two years old.”

Darian shakes her head and smirks. “Not even a little bit.” She looks at Reagan. “Sweetie, this is your Uncle Declan. He’s Dad’s brother. You haven’t seen him since you were two years old.”

She sucks in a breath and stiffens. She looks shocked. Carter pulls her close and kisses her head to soothe her. “What? Why now? Where the hell have you been our whole lives?”

Darian attempts to calm her. “Reagan, relax. Uncle Declan has had some substance abuse issues in the past. We wouldn’t allow him to be around you girls when you were younger. But he’s clean now. I didn’t know that until a few moments ago. It seems by some miraculous coincidence, he’s dating Melissa. She brought him here today to meet the family. I take it by her extreme shock that she, like Declan, didn’t realize the connection.”

I nod my head in confirmation.

---